Dutch firm Neutelings Riedijk Architects have been commissioned to design a new high-rise residential and leisure complex on the site of an old Russian car factory.

The 39,000sq m (419,000sq ft), 75m (246ft) high ZIL Tower will be located beside the Moskva River, 5km (3 miles) from the centre of Moscow. The site was once the home of an automobile plant owned by the Russian company ZIL, which manufactured trucks, military vehicles and cars, as well as limousines for Soviet leaders.

The new structure will consist of five connected residential towers sat atop a three-storey public plinth building, which will contain shopping and restaurant facilities and a health spa – details of which are still to be confirmed. A central court for members of the public will be covered by a huge glass dome.

In an exclusive interview with CLAD, Neutelings architect Michiel Riedijk said: "We were pleased with the opportunity of designing a new part of the skyline of the great city of Moscow. The location of our ZIL Tower, alongside the park, a new pedestrian boulevard and the new Hermitage Moscow museum [which is also in development] is part of what attracted us to the project.”

The company will collaborate with Russian architecture and planning firm Project Meganom on an urban redevelopment masterplan for the site, which will incorporate areas of greenspace and a pedestrianised boulevard.

Riedijk said: “Over the past years the quality of Moscow's public space has developed enormously. I believe it’s important to shift focus from the current car-based urban structure. Giving more room to other forms of public transport such as bicycles and pedestrians, as well as the creation of new public parks, will add strongly to the city's urban quality.”

The ZIL Tower has been commissioned by the LSR Group, Russia’s leading development and construction company. Once complete, it will contain 300 luxury apartments of various sizes, with panoramic views over the city.